We Weren't Left To Die!
by drinking-alone
Summary: Ellis and Nick were separated from Coach and Rochelle and Ellis was badly injured by a hunter. Nick has deserted him. He meets Hailey after a little run in with a horde, can he get back to his friends, or will he be left 2 die?
1. Chapter 1

Ellis sat against a building holding his side; warm blood slowly trickling out of his fresh wound. It was quiet, something that scared the Georgian. He held onto his gun, lightly placing his finger upon the trigger, flexing against it. The sun sat at midday and was hot against the survivor's body. Sweat streaked out from under Ellis's hat and he let go of his side to wipe it away. He attempted to move slightly but his side screamed out in pain and he quickly flew his hand to the gash.

"God damn," he muttered

He'd lost his med kit a while ago after a hunter had leapt onto his back, yanking him to the ground. The pounce had caused Coach to stumble back and lose his footing. The steep slope had taken Coach by surprise and he slipped down the hill taking Rochelle with him. The two of them had tumbled down the traverse and were forced down the creek away from Nick and Ellis. That was the other thing, Nick had disappeared. He'd promised to come back with supplies, but since it was already noon or so Nick had been gone since late last night. At this point it was fairly obvious to the mechanic he was not coming back. Ellis pushed on his injury attempting to keep the bleeding under control. _Where we're they?_ Ellis thought. It wasn't like Coach to leave him for this long, or Rochelle... .Nick wasn't a surprise; he hadn't exactly seemed pleased to discover it was Ellis he'd pulled the hunter off of.

In the distance Ellis heard the noise of the horde; he glanced up the building as it was echoing from the highway. He pulled his gun up off the ground readying himself for an attack. Gunshot cut through the air quickly, breaking some of the noise. Ellis scrambled to his feet hardly thinking of his wound and staggered towards the hotel parking lot. He painfully brought his hand from his side to support the shaft of his gun. Searching for the source of the noise he spotted someone moving. Far off on one of the overpasses, Ellis, saw a young woman shooting her way through a small horde. She was pushing them back and then discharging her gun on them.

"HEY!" Ellis hollered waving his arm far over his head despite his injury.

He took aim and continued to shoot the horde from her, allowing her to escape. The girl scampered down the hill and pushed herself through an opening in the fence. She fell as soon as her last foot got through but didn't stop moving. Turning onto her back she pulled out her pistol and fired at the last infected. Ellis came to her side and took her around the waist heaving her up off the ground.

"Thanks," she quickly sparked as the final enemy ceased twitching and lay dead upon the ground.

She pushed her long hair out her face and swiped the back of her hand against her bloody forehead. Ellis took a better look at this young woman; she looked about his age, her body was firm... a jealousy an older woman would have held. However her body was an enjoyment to a male of any age. Her chest seemed to struggle slightly against her collared shirt, they didn't threaten the buttons as much as a well endowed woman would have, but they were larger none the less. Ellis caught himself staring a little too long at her ample delights and quickly pulled his attention to her face. Her features wore in a heart shape with green eyes, her mouth pulled in a pout and she was in need of sleep.

"Hi," She interrupted his gazing feast.

Ellis glanced back into her dark green eyes and soon found himself spinning. His side reminded him of what had happened the night before. He stumbled back and dropped his gun. The woman reached out grabbing him by shoulders; but Ellis's muscular body pushed against her arms and he slumped down against the office of the hotel.

"Damn," he muttered; losing his grip against his torso.

Ellis awoke slowly, his eyelids pulling back and revealing a dark room. He tried to sit up but his head spun and he lay back down. The woman rolled in her sleep beside him; he shuffled away from her quickly, he was taken aback. Her body lay almost motionless once she was settled. Ellis reached down to his side and discovered a bandage wound tightly against his injury. He sat up slowly pushing the sleeping bag away from his body; his throat quenching for water.

"Oh," The woman sighed, "I didn't realize you were awake."

Ellis turned slowly, he saw her sit up from the bed and rub her arms. She rolled over and pulled something up from the other side of the bed.

"Here," she said holding out a small bottle of water, "I tried to get as much of these in you before you completely passed out."

Ellis took the bottle; unscrewing the cap rapidly and drank. He didn't remember her doing anything other than grabbing him as he fell. He had been brought to a room, possibly the hotel keeper's room, but had she carried him? Her arms were toned, but Ellis was 190 lbs of muscle.

"Uh, thank you," Ellis fumbled after a few moments of silence, "My name's Ellis."

"Hailey," she said holding out her hand.

He smiled and took the hand, shaking it with a firm grip; testing to see if she was strong enough to lift him. Her hand clasped his almost as hard as he had.

"Nice grip," he replied slightly flexing his hand, "How'd you find yer self in the zombie apocalypse?"

"I was on my way to whispering oaks, I got through the highway before they started closing it down," she paused and circled her wrist with her other hand, tightly wrapping the fingers around for support, "People started getting out of their cars and running away from each other but it began to spread," her eyes stared out in front of her, "I locked my door and hid in the back seat, under a blanket. The screaming just wouldn't stop, and then... somebody opened broke my car's window," her voice began to lower, "They tried to bit me, and before I knew it I was hurting this person, I was doing anything to kill them. More came and I left my car. I began to fight them off, but I stumbled down a hill and hurt my leg," she seemed to pause again, editing out some of the story, "I managed to hide from them for a day, and made it back to my car when night time came. That was five days ago."

"How long have I been here," Ellis asked.

"A night," she replied, her eyes still gave away that she needed sleep, "I think we should keep moving."

"Definitely," Ellis agreed, "I have some friends who went on ahead."

"There are other survivors?" She asked, her voice lighten by the news.

"Yessum, and they'll be glad to see us alive."

Ellis knew he was going to have to trust her; he needed her to find his way back to Coach and Rochelle. He didn't know where Nick was, but he knew he didn't care.

**A/N: So I'm planning to write more, I just wanted to get this up. I wrote it a few weeks ago and even though I'm planning on continuing, I'm not sure if people will like it. I guess you could say this is a pilot for my story. Please Review : )**


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly they made their way down the steep slope. Ellis slipped slightly and Hailey reached out for his arm. Her firm grip caught his forearm and steadied him against the incline. He weighted himself with his back straighter before smiling at her.

"Thanks," His Georgian accent replied.

She dropped her hand and turned towards the bottom of the hill again. They continued in silence reaching the creek and tromping through the mud. It was strangely quiet and dead bodies lay either in the water or along the side of the creek. Most infected were dead now, in fact the pair had seen none since their first encounter. Ellis stumbled behind Hailey; his wounded side gave him a slight limp. She trumped on ahead, her boots sinking farther into the mud than Ellis's should have. Hailey glanced up a slope that carried itself more horizontal than the gradients beside it.

"Here," She yelled pointing towards the top; she turned to see Ellis clutch onto his knees for support, "You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ellis lied, "Just a bit tired s'all."

Her face slowly broke with an understanding smile; she came to the male's side and pulled his arm over her shoulder. Together they began to climb the incline and while her breath remained steady Ellis's became deep and shallow.

"You know," She started, slowing the steps, "You don't have to act tough, I won't make fun of you or ridicule you like that Keith guy."

"How do you know about Keith?"

"You kept mumbling his name while you were passing out, something about 90 % of burns to his body," Hailey replied and smirked, "Is he your man?"

"My man!" Ellis jetted, he stared at Hailey, "Look, I ain't got no problems with the gays but I ain't into guys, 'specially my buddy Keith," Ellis pulled a face of disgust, "He's like my brother."

"Just thought I'd check," Hailey laughed.

"Check?"

"Yeah," She leaned into his ear and lowered her voice, "Gotta see if a good looking guy like you plays for my team."

It was the first light hearted thing to come from her mouth, Hailey was strong and she was a woman of few words at times. Ellis could tell she was attempting to bond with him, it was flattering but it scared the crap out of him. A very attractive girl was basically throwing an invite in his lap, or so he hoped. He needed her in many ways, most of all survival. He wouldn't be able to reunite with Coach and Rochelle without her. His wound didn't feel any better, but it didn't feel worse and it was thanks to her.

"What country boy? Have you ever been complimented before?" Her voice became a little harder.

"Well, no," Ellis said honestly, he opened his mouth to return the favour but Hailey cut in before he could make a sound.

"Don't," She shushed, "I got it enough before the apocalypse."

Ellis closed his mouth and attempted to quicken the pace up the slope without causing too much pain in his side. Hailey practically pulled him up the last section of the hill; her strength was strange to Ellis. How did this toned woman have the kind of strength she had, without displaying it in any of her muscle definition. She even had a heavy step when she walked, and she was always glancing around as if she heard something. Then Ellis had another train of thought push into his mind; adrenaline. Ever since the infection had started, he'd been on his feet, alert. The adrenaline that coursed through his body was enough to give him incredible strength at times. That must have been the same for Hailey's case.

"Well there it is," Hailey spoke softly, "Whispering oaks."

"Still looks the same."

Hailey looked at Ellis, his eyes glinting with a childlike glow. She wanted to possess that as well, she wanted to forget what happened in the woods before she met up with him. She wanted to feel normal again, or normal enough to be able to sleep.

"Makes you wanna get some cotton candy," Hailey whispered.

"Oh," Ellis gleamed, "You are truly the woman of my dreams."

He shuffled towards the gates and then looked back at Hailey, she weakly smiled. He was normal; he was immune like her surely. Maybe she was more immune, she didn't know.

"Come on," He softly yelled in case infected were near.

She quickly cantered towards him holding what she believed as an adequate mask of her feelings. He pulled the gate open enough for one person to climb through.

"I would say ladies first, but since something could attack you, I'll go first."

"You just want the cotton first!"

"That is one aspect of going first that I like," he drawled, he then held his hand out signalling she could go first, "just save me some."

Hailey rolled her eyes once she passed him; he truly was in kiddie land. She waited until he came through before she closed the gate. Together they made their way to a closed vender; she looked at Ellis and then back at the steel curtain.

"Don't worry Hails," Ellis mumbled as he pulled up the skirt of the machine, "Me and Keith broke into one of these a while back, I'm sure they haven't changed the design or nutt'in."

The nickname caught her slightly; he truly was a boy under those toned muscles. He was her friend in such a short time; the truly alien word to Hailey became clearer. Her throat grew a little hot and she swallowed to sooth it. Focusing her attention away from her mind she stared at Ellis who sat fiddling away at the vender.

"Damn thing, she's a tricky one," he grunted as he pointed his flashlight to another area of the machine, "Ah ha! I knew she'd have a sweet spot," he reached in farther and the vender door popped open slightly.

Hailey grabbed the door and slowly pulled it up, stopping whenever it made a protesting noise. Ellis stood and brushed himself off; he wiped his hands on his overalls.

"I'm guessing you're a mechanic?" Hailey said as she pulled on a dangling sleeve.

"Pretty good one in my opinion," Ellis smirked jabbing his thumb towards the air sealed bags of cotton candy.

"I haven't had anything to eat since I found you," Hailey murmured, "But, fuck it... I'm not passing this up."

"Me either," Ellis chuckled grabbing a bag for himself and Hailey, "Free stuff always tastes the best!"

"Technically," Hailey corrected, "It's stolen."

"Seriously?" Ellis narrowed his eyes in a jesting way.

"I'm only kidding," Hailey giggled popping a chunk of the candy into her mouth.

She closed her eyes and allowed the cotton to dissolve against her tongue, melting into a tender ball of sugar that tasted better than the blood and sweat which had been lingering in her mouth. She took another hunk crunched it down with her hand and then bit into it. Her lips even seemed to be salivating; she quickly reached into the vender and grabbed another bag.

"You're gonna be sick if you eat all that," Ellis said his mouth full of cotton as well.

"I don't care," She muttered, she liked the taste, she liked it so much more than the death she had been tasting, "I don't care," she said again.

***

They found shelter in the tunnel of love, some army food and water. Hailey and Ellis both drank about three before they felt satisfied. There was a giant sleeping bag, enough for a family Ellis had said which caused Hailey to laugh weakly. They put it out on the floor and lay side by side staring at the ceiling.

"So," Hailey said softly, "You were a mechanic before this."

"Yes ma'am," he replied, "You?"

"I was a nurse," she looked at her folded hands across her navel.

"Wow," Ellis cried his voice high with excitement; he sat up, "Like in the ER? How many lives did you save! Was there a lot of blood?"

"Ellis," Hailey cringed at his wound, "Lay back down, just because we're letting it breath tonight doesn't mean you can get a head of yourself," She pulled on his shoulder, "you'll break open the fresh scabs."

He lay back down and allowed Hailey to raise his arm away from the wound; she stared at it and then placed her hand around the freshly closed opening. The smell of alcohol was being to die down from the cleaning of his injury.

"Give me the bad news doc," Ellis joked, his face in a very animated pained expression, "Will I make it for Christmas?"

Hailey gave him a look and he sheepishly dropped the appearance. She slowly lowered herself back down still eyeing the damage.

"It looks good, we may want to stay here tomorrow, then you'll be able to move faster," she returned her eyesight to the ceiling.

"You're the ER nurse," Ellis sighed.

"I wasn't an ER nurse," Hailey muttered closing her eyes, "I have first aid training and basic surgeon training for stitches," she hastily added she paused. There was a long silence before she continued, "But I didn't work in the ER. I worked in a psychiatric ward of a Children's hospital."

"What was that like," Ellis called his voice slowly losing the motor control, he felt himself falling asleep.

"Tough," Hailey whispered, "Their only children, you can't tell a child why their mentally ill... they just don't understand."

"That is tough," Ellis breathed he was falling faster in slumber, "but... you helped, them ... none the less...," he trailed off and crashed.

The adrenaline that had been in his system finally broke down and he passed out again like before. Hailey rolled to face him; she placed her hand next to his and slowly let her eyes close. The warmth from him was soothing and she finally felt real sleep come upon her.

**A/N: So I've decided to work on this one more. I mean if you guys hate this chapter, I'll try and change it but ha-ha I might just stop. Please Review and give me feedback. : ) [and heck, you can be as brutal as you want, I just want to know how to get better at story telling]**


	3. Chapter 3

Hailey woke abruptly and choked on what attempted to come up her throat. She sat up coughing and then gagging.

"Oh god," She cringed as she scrambled away from the bed frantically searching for a garbage pail.

Then she couldn't hold it back any longer; she lunged forward onto her hands and vomited. The room became muted and she clawed her nails into the ground. She'd managed to grab an empty cotton candy bag; if it was going to hold up she didn't know. Breath filled her lungs as her stomach ceased supplying her with pink and red sick. She shakily wiped her mouth and took another long breath. With the room spinning she took as many deep breaths as she could. The urge came back quickly though and she felt herself retch, hanging over the bag for support. This time more blood and water came out, it looked like flesh chunks as well. She gasped and held the bag away from her, blood dripping from her mouth.

"You woof your cookies?" Ellis faintly asked from behind her.

She turned and looked at him with her glazed eyes and bloody chin. He nearly strangled himself trying to jump out of the sleeping bag,

"Holey Christ in a hand basket!" he cried scrambling out of the bedding.

"DON'T," Hailey shouted holding her hand up, stopping him dead in his tracks, "You will rip your stitches moving like that... just get me some water."

Ellis slowed his movements and grabbed two water bottles from the cooler. He grabbed a blanket and reached to seize the bag from Hailey but she pulled it away from him.

"I'll get rid of it," she muttered.

She grabbed the blanket and wiped her face before closing the plastic bag. Hailey saw a biohazard bucket and disposed of her puke. She chugged back the water and clutched onto her hands to stop them from shaking, Ellis placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and glanced up at him, her throat hurt and she felt horrible.

"Come," he said softly, "Come lie down."

Hailey reached up and took hold of Ellis's open hand; he pulled her up into him. The room spun and she took hold of his arms for balance. They crossed the room towards the makeshift bed; Ellis seated himself and Hailey lay down next to him on the sleeping bag.

"Here," he whispered, "roll on your side, my ma used to do this for me when I was sick like that."

He placed his hand on her back and stroked her toned muscles. He started from Hailey's shoulder down to her lower back. Admittedly she felt better and was glad she could trust him, but could he trust her. Her past from not so long ago, 6 days now... was catching up with her.

"Thank you," she whispered weakly.

He squeezed her shoulder in response.

***

Ellis opened his eyes after dozing off; he soon realized that Hailey was completely pressed against him. She was cool to the touch but her hands were warm; she lay sleeping quite soundly and her chest rose slowly enough to indicate she was in a deep sleep. He sat up measuring his time, he dare not wake her. Hailey needed the rest, her eyes still bore dark circles and yet even in the back of Ellis's mind he still doubted that rest would fix that.

He looked through the army food for something that sounded moderately edible but only found powdered soup mix. He put it back and checked on their water supply; he discovered another row of water bottles below the first layer of ice. He pulled them to the top and grabbed one for himself. Ellis took a seat on the sleeping bag and felt his side with a delicate touch. Pulling up his shirt he awkwardly gazed at his scabby wound, it looked a lot better and it didn't hurt as much...just felt itchy.

Ignoring the urge to scratch the hell out of it he glimpsed at Hailey still sleeping; her lips were naturally pouted. He took a longer look and studied the features of her face; he felt himself grow even more concerned that she had been asleep for this long. But then again he didn't know what day it was to begin with, or how long he had been asleep next to her. Counting on his fingers he heard Hailey begin to cough like before. He reached for the biohazard bucket and pulled it under her just as she became sick. Heaving over the container she was relieved when it was only a watery vomit.

"Thanks," She whispered taking hold of the bucket.

Ellis placed a hand on her back and rubbed again but she stopped him.

"I'm okay," She tried her coarse voice again; "Let me see your wound."

Ellis complied and pulled up his shirt showing her the wound. She nodded and pressed on a few locations that still remained bruised. Ellis made a sound as she did this but he tried his best to keep himself quiet. He needed to keep going, he had to find Coach and Rochelle. He didn't know if Nick was dead, for all he knew, Nick could have gone down the ravine without him. Nick had probably told them that he was dead, which wasn't true, not in a long shot. He was very much alive.

"How does it feel?" Hailey asked still staring at the injury.

"Itchy as hell, but I'll live," He smiled.

She couldn't help herself but smile as well. His face held so much more than honesty and rugged features, he was nice and truly a good person. Ellis had no hidden agenda, no tricks, nothing but compassion for his fellow man, or woman in this case. He valued people as much as he valued himself; which was in good terms. His smile truly sparked happiness within her and for moments at a time her dark incident at the beginning of the apocalypse did not surface in her mind.

"Shall we find your friends?"

"Sure will," Ellis replied while he grabbed a gun off the table and began to get ready.

Hailey knew sooner or later that she would have to leave him, but for now, she needed his help. They had to stick together.

**A/N: Kind of on the short side, but I have to run to class. I'll try to update more because I really like this story. Anyhue, tell me what you think [REVIEW]. THANK YOU :) **


	4. Chapter 4

Hailey glanced through the barred window of the safe room door. Holding her magnum adjacent to her face she peered into the very low lighting that was the tunnel of love. She leaned back away from the window and turned her head towards Ellis. He gave her a single nod and rushed across from her readying his weapon. Hailey let one of her hands fall away from her gun; placing it on the guard bar of the door. She pulled up on the metal rod and threw it to the bed as to make a quiet landing. Together they left the safe room cautiously.

Slowly the pair crept through the dark tunnel; void of any water in the canals. The drained waterway allowed a very hollow echo of each foot step they took. The reverberation ricocheted against the walls and bounced further into the gloomy passageway. There were bodies everywhere. They decorated the hall with a morbid tone and the smell began to etch away at both Hailey and Ellis. It was clear that most of the corpses had been lying in the canals for a while and dried blood spatter was beginning to peal from the walls. Hailey placed a hand on her stomach and began to feel the familiar condition of want to retch. Her vision had also begun to change and she found herself rubbing her eyes in attempts to retain the normal hues of the world around her.

Then dizziness caught Hailey and swayed her against the side of the tunnel. As her hand made contact with the metal wall of the enclosure a loud and somewhat eerie thump resonated out into the corridor. Ellis jumped at the noise hold his gun against his chest. It had been louder than either of them expected.

"Oh man, you scared me," Ellis flustered; he held a small smile in his tone.

Hailey smiled apologetically, she knew her strength was becoming noticeable. She attempted to push away from the wall but felt it difficult, her stomach was upset again and she withheld the urge to be sick. Ellis moved to her slowly and grabbed her hand at the wrist placing her arm over his firm shoulders. His muscles still felt soft under her arm and Hailey allowed for him to help her along the tunnel. With his hand resting just above her hips Hailey noticed the ever growing southern charm this boy had. With his body walking in stride beside hers she gave Ellis another look. He was young and handsome, even with the dirt and dried blood. On closer inspection he didn't look like a boy he looked like a full grown man, with chiselled features and an even beard. With these traits Hailey found herself troubled, she found it harder to think of leaving him. Ellis after all was her only friend now, and she didn't want to be alone but she knew she was becoming dangerous.

"We should stop for some water," Ellis spoke quietly and reached into their communal backpack.

"I'll be okay," Hailey lied feeling the room spin harder.

They'd stopped in what appeared to be a maintenance room with a garage door lay open. Hailey peered out and saw sunlight but she didn't much care, she was looking for infected. The fairgrounds remained as empty as the halls of the Tunnel of Love. She wondered where they had gone; maybe this was a blessing, or more a curse in disguise.

Moving outside Hailey placed her hand on the back of her forehead wiping away beads of sweat. She felt worse in the sun; it was hot and hurt her eyes. Squinting only made her headache worse. The world began to blur in and out of focus and Hailey crumpled down with her hands on her knees. At this point Ellis came over to her and rubbed her back.

"I know I ain't no nurse, but I think you should drink somethin'," Ellis said thrusting a water bottle into Hailey's hands.

Reluctantly she took the bottle and gently unscrewed the cap. She placed the bottle to her lips and felt the cool liquid flush against her tongue and cheeks. It tasted better than anything, even the cotton candy. Greedily she gulped it back until it was finished. Strangely she placed the empty bottle on the ground, as if it might be a good place for it.

"Thanks," She whispered placing a hand on Ellis's back.

He smiled his boyish grin but it soon faded. In the distance they heard crying, and ghostly crying they knew all too well. They swiftly moved towards the walls lining their backs to it, and held their breath. A few moments managed to sneak by them without being noticed. A witch slowly wandered a few yards from them holding her head up in her hands, her body heaving with sobs. Stumbling along it was very hard to believe she could notice anything but herself .The howls chilled their very spines and Hailey began to creep away with Ellis at her side. They pushed along against the wall as if it were a very small ledge on a colossal building. A pebble caught itself underneath Hailey's foot and flew a few feet in front of her, she froze... they both did. The growling of the witch was closer and pricking at their ears.

"Hailey," Ellis breathed.

Very measured in her movements she turned to see the witch glaring at them, her red eyes wide and her jaw clenched with growls. The witch heaving on the brink anger began to rear up for her attack. And before Hailey could think she had lunged at the witch with her own piercing supernatural cry.

**A/N: Aren't Cliff hangers a bitch? Tell me what you think; you know I'm always looking to improve my writing. ****REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

Everything tasted of blood when Hailey finally came to. She lay against a building slumped over with her mouth open attempting to swallow. She badly needed water and yet even with her dry throat she could still taste the putrid flavour of blood.

Glancing around she noticed it was night time, or at least it soon would be. She couldn't remember anything other than pushing past Ellis and attacking the witch. Hailey began to inhaled sharply, she didn't know what she had done; her memory had erased itself. Her head made contact with the wall and she clutched her chest. She tried to remember what had happened desperately and it was beginning to freak her out. Hailey kick a legged out in frustration and began to hyperventilate. Raking through her mind Hailey kept striving to pull the memories that just weren't there. Simultaneously she felt as if she were drowning and dying.

"ELLIS!" she screamed through her dry mouth, "HELP!" she managed a very sharp and harbinger breath, " HELP! ANYONE!"

Again she tried to breath but her lungs would not take, she began to sweat and could feel every rapid heartbeat course through her ears. It was hard to see, she felt out of body and out of her mind, it was so surreal she barely recognized Ellis as he emerged from his hiding place, gun in hand.

"Holey shit you're alive."

Hailey looked up to see Ellis who'd quickly run out from behind some thick hedges, he held his shotgun aiming at her. Hailey careened to the floor coughing for breath. Ellis pulled the gun back and away from her; finally he dropped the weapon all together and kneeled at her side pulling her body against his. He brushed away hair from her face with a terrified look in his own eyes.

"I-I'm having-g a pan-ic attack," she stuttered before clutching onto his shirt almost ripping it from him, "I n-need water."

Ellis grabbed the last few water bottles and helped Hailey drink them, she began to calm down. Her body stopped having spasms, and she took deeper breaths. Ellis held her close and attempted to hide the long scratch marks on his arms. They were deep and carved into his flesh like valleys with red running rivers. She touched them receiving a cringing hiss from Ellis.

"I'd tell ya how I got these but you probably wouldn't believe me," His voice dropped into a strange tone.

Looking at them again Hailey cringed herself, they were deep and obviously not self inflicted. She looked up into Ellis's eyes and there she saw what he was hiding.

"What the fuck happened?" Hailey said quietly, she was far too confused to pussyfoot around anything.

"Shit," defeatedly answered, he knew he'd have to give her answers, "Well, I've never seen anyone strangle a witch before on account nobody gets too far with the bitch, but hell you just ripped her limb to limb after she stopped screaming," Ellis seemed more impressed than frightened, "I tried to pull you off 'er, I mean she was pretty much nothin' left and all...-."

Hailey cut in,

"Is that how I gave you those?"

"Well, not quite," Ellis said slyly, he bit his lip and looked away from Hailey.

"What," she asked without question, more of an order.

She revisited the wounds on his arms; they looked passionate but not angry. He had very little defensive wounds almost as if he'd let her attack him. The motive behind this made no sense to Hailey, but then again she felt like an animal now. She'd attacked a witch and destroyed her, and then came back to human consciousness. Was she really turning into one of them, or a strange hybrid?

"Ellis," she spoke softly, "I can hardly believe what I did, but I did it anyways. What did I do to you? It couldn't possibly stranger."

Again Ellis bit his lip in attempts to shut himself up, he was more embarrassed than anything.

"You see," he cleared his throat, "After I pulled you off the witch, you kinda started lookin' me up 'n down... I thought maybe you were realizing me as a friend," He held his tongue, he was self-conscious to reveal the conclusion; he rubbed his face before pulling up his bull riders shirt.

Claw marks that lay deep and were beginning to scab over, all pointed to one thing. In her strange triggered rage or evolution to a special infected she had removed Ellis's pants.

"I did what?" Hailey whispered, she couldn't believe or recall why or when she did this.

"I never really been dominated by a woman before," Ellis said sheepishly, "but you held me down and--."

"I get the picture," Hailey shook her head.

"I don't know why you did it," Ellis spoke with a very kind tone, "It didn't really hurt, but after we um finished you went beside this building and collapsed," He peered out from underneath his hat, "I thought you might've of died or something."

"Why'd you stay then?" Hailey whispered through a hard stare.

"Because you're all I got left."

**A/N: Another short one. : ( Sorry. REVIEW please.**

**Ps. I'm Nervous about what you guys think**


	6. Chapter 6

There had been little words shared between them since Hailey had attacked Ellis. He kept a few feet back, walking slowly to help stave off further injury. Hailey kept her head at a somewhat low angle; a position that was more so an auto pilot for walking. She was trapped in her thoughts and her stomach was still turning from earlier, she reckoned that she would never feel right again. As the time went by between them she slowly accepted this.

She also accepted that this dilapidated world would probably cease to be salvageable. The area was scattered with dead bodies and they had long left the theme park. They carried ahead on a cleared section of highway.

The wind slowly picked up with a stale warmth that still gave Hailey and Ellis a static body shiver. She slowly turned to her partner, a new title she also decided to accept. His arm drooped with the weight of a fully loaded shotgun; his body favoring his stronger side. Hailey quickly yanked her backpack from her back allowing air to swarm the sweated area. Heat escaped and her shirt clung to her even more; a shower would definitely help return some sort of human feelings.

"Here," Hailey spoke quietly, her hand outstretched with an offering of water.

"I'm good," Ellis smiled.

She pushed the bottle on him and allowed a small grin to spread across her lips. His southern charm was getting hard to resist. She'd found some comfort in being able to watch her back and see his boyish face.

"You need it, you'll heal faster," she said.

Ellis then clutched the water bottle and placed a slightly shaky hand upon the cap,

"You reckon' I'll ever heal?" he placed the opening to his mouth.

Hailey only helped push the water into his mouth,

"Drink."

He still managed to drink through a smile, Hailey attempted to ignore the somewhat broken nature of it. He handed the last bit of it to Hailey and pushed it on her.

"We gotta take care of each other," he voice dropped.

The blowing breeze slowly went still and quiet settled upon them. The lighting had dropped immensely and they'd been traveling by moonlight for the last two hours. Hailey decided that the dead breeze would be good to keep going, it would keep their scent from being found. But with Ellis pushing his injurer she decided against it.

"Speaking of which," she stated after a few moments to herself, "We should probably stop for the night."

"What here? In the middle of this highway, we've got swamps on either side of us, I don't know 'bout you but them critters and bugs ain't the nicest to be around."

"I can't have you walking around with that wound anymore today, not to mention the new inflictions," she felt herself become slightly irritated, "If you reopen any of those scabs you'll be useless."

"Useless? So you only need me for protection?"

"No that's not what I meant," She had back track but held her tone, she hated being told no.

"So if you can't make all the decisions you—"

"Stop!" Hailey shouted, gripped tightly on her backpack.

"No, I won't stop," Ellis got close to her, "I DON'T need a mother!"

They squared off against each other; each one looking frustrated and tired. Both covered in blood and taken very swiftly by hunger. These were survivors, these were two survivors and they were fighting like rats. Her eyes grew cold and his didn't budge from the grinding thoughts he wanted to say. They slipped none the less,

"I never even asked for those 'new inflictions'."

Hailey's eyes went wide and she turned sharply and started ahead on the road. It was at that moment Ellis instantly regretted what he'd said,

"Oh Hailey, come 'on I didn't mean what I said," his pleas were slowly drifting into the night at her back which seemed to be disappearing as the moments grew in range.

His limping run caused Hailey to slow down in attempt to stop him. His face did look apologetic. She felt her stomach; it was in knots and cringing under the weight of the emptiness. Her hand no longer helped comfort what she was potentially going to become.

"I'm sorry," Hailey said.

"No it's not your fault; I was being a jerk-."

"No," Hailey breathed, Ellis held his tongue and stared down at her face, creased in an familiar yet painful expression, "I'm sorry," she said again, "I didn't know."

"Hey," Ellis reassured her as she dropped her head in her hands.

She wasn't crying just looking for support in her own body; Ellis pressed an arm to her shoulder. He himself was unsure of what to do. They stood there for a bit just resting and listening to the silence of the night.

"It wasn't awful," Ellis smirked.

**A/N: yes I'm sorry it's another short one; I'm at school right now so I hope to get home and get started working on another one. I'll also have to apologize for the somewhat disconnect of the writing, I'm getting back into to it.**

**I'm really sorry for the delay, the long $$ delay in fact, I transferred to a new school and they keep me very busy. And I'm sorry about the mistakes, I try to get them all but I never seem to do; which is probably because I proofread right after I write. But ummmm yes**

**Please REVIEW, as you know they are my oxygen and good reminders to update. **


	7. Chapter 7

Hailey just stared at Ellis; his smirk was slowly turning into a laugh. He couldn't contain himself; it was Hailey's bright red cheeks.

"Shut up," She smacked him against the chest.

"Argh, god damn woman," Ellis hissed clutching his shoulder.

"Oh whatever," She lightly teased.

Ellis tilted his head up and shot her his dashing smile.

"I reckon I can play that card once or twice."

"Come on," Hailey replied pulling the back pack higher on her arms.

They continued quietly through the cooling night as the moon gave them a dim light. The breeze was holding steady and Hailey found herself pushing her hair away from her forehead. There was nothing more irritating than having long hair in a humid heat. Most people from back home would have lavished in a heat wave, but Hailey was slowly learning that Georgia was not that quaint.

The bayous beside the highway slowly began to dry up and grass field grew into their place. The wind made a low hushing noise as it rolled over the grassland. Hailey glance up to the sky, the moon was almost overhead. It was surprising how the world was so quiet, she could feel herself relax. The darker the night became the less the bugs came to swarm around them. Ellis could be heard adjusting to his weaker side; his injury was slowing him down. Hailey stopped and spun around on her heal, she felt a little more normal.

"I'm coming," Ellis muttered before he faltered on his leg.

Hailey dashed over to him, her hands reaching out for him but he quickly recovered. She stood up and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Think we could have that stop for the night?" Ellis asked, or more smiled.

It seemed impossible for this man to have dampened spirits.

"Yeah, I think there has to be a farm ahead," Hailey spoke while moving her eyes down the road.

They continued down the dark highway, the moon seemed to be dimming by the hour. Slowly barbwire fences popped up. Hailey was not wrong, as the grass fields turned to a small orchard they saw a small cabin on a gravel road that snaked off the highway. It seemed to be abandoned; their feet almost seemed to skip underneath them.

The gravel was almost ear piercingly loud compared to the pavement. Hailey made herself teeter more towards the side where the grass was soft, it was soothing. Ellis continued to trump on towards the cabin, all his mind could muster was that sleep was near.

"Wait," Hailey whispered; she motioned to a window.

Together they drew their weapons, they almost seemed foreign now. Hailey tested the weight of the barrel by gentle shaking the gun. It was strange to be back on high alert; it had been a while since her heart smashed against her ribcage. She brought her hands together again to hold the weapon steady, her breath was heavy.

Together they shared a glance and then turned it into the building. Although the night was darker now they could see nothing of danger inside the cabin. Ellis relaxed but Hailey could only bring her gun higher, she jumped when it smacked the window pane.

She could feel Ellis's eyes on her; she had to keep it under control. Closing her eyes she began to feel a returning sensation, the light inside had looked orange once again. It was a luxury to forget for a few hours, she'd been selfish to think of Ellis being hurt as a good excuse. She knew, the longer she stayed, the more he was in danger. It wasn't fair to the Georgian, but to have a companion was growing on her. The commitment issues in her real life were strangely solving themselves, who knew the answer was an apocalypse.

Ellis decided to let her be; he grabbed the handle and slowly let the door swing open. The low creak was enough to pull Hailey back. She watched as he disappeared into the house, she followed and clutched onto the doorframe.

"It's all clear," Ellis spoke while grabbing the handle.

Hailey stepped inside as he closed the door. The air settled around them, their eyes adjusted more and Hailey could see a lantern. It was a dim light but it helped in the small space. Ellis just stared into the flickering flame, it was hypnotic. The way it moved, twisting around its source and curling up towards the top.

"Let me change your bandages," Hailey spoke softly, it was enough to break Ellis's concentration.

He pulled his shirt from his body, his skin somewhat glistening from sweat. Turning to the light Hailey could see little improvement in his injuries. She wiped away the new dried blood from his side, he shivered slightly.

" 'is cold," He chuckled.

"Sorry," Hailey replied allowing a small smile break her lips.

She looked into his eyes, the gentle blue gazing back. They had never been this close in her sober state. It was almost a little hard to blame her dark side for forcing herself upon him. His face seemed to creep forward as the gravity of the space pulled her in. His breath was close and hot, she was sure he felt hers. She reached her hand to his claw marks; he watched her eyes travel over them again.

"I'm sorry again," She whispered.

"Like I said, it wasn't awful. My buddy Keith woulda' been proud of me," He pulled back to rest his back against the wall, "As strange as it was."

Hailey slapped a hand to her forehead, and let her head hang. She returned them to her legs before pushing up into standing.

"I'm not so sure what to think anymore."

"Shit girl, it's the end of the fuckin' world and you're atta loss for thoughts?"

His smirk rose from his lips, she caught the vibe and laughed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She sat on a chair opposite to him, "Everything down belo—."

"Hey now," Ellis sat up, "My downstairs business is fine."

They exchanged smiles but let them wash away from their faces. It was different as it could be for almost strangers. Hailey crossed her arms and slouched down. They were exhausted but couldn't bring themselves to extinguish the light and sleep on the small double bed. The wind rustled the roof; it was a beautiful night for a hot summer eve.

"I can sleep on the couch," Ellis prattled after some time had passed.

"Don't be ridiculous." Hailey mused, "We both need the comfort."

She leaned forward and grasped the handle of the lantern. She waited for Ellis to awkwardly stand up. They approached the bed and in tandem collapsed against the soft fabric. The heat allowed them to leave the covers bunched up at the foot of the bed. Ellis sighed loudly and stretched his arms up to the ceiling, Hailey who laid against her stomach felt his eyes upon her. She peaked up at him from her hair. His shoulder pulled upwards and she quickly moved her hair from her face before he could lay his hand there. Pulling his hand to his chest he returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"I used to lay fer hours in my bed, thinkin' of the weirdest shit," Ellis croaked, he cleared his throat, "Like how I could make a truck rev the anthem or somethin'."

Hailey gave Ellis a look, his eyes slowly shifted towards hers.

"What about now?" Hailey whispered.

Ellis smirked and placed his hands behind his head.

"I don't kiss 'n tell."

Hailey frowned and rolled to her back.

"Come on now, don't be like that," Ellis said with a tone of tease.

Hailey rolled her head and stared into his eyes. Ellis gave her his earnest expression,

"You saved my life Hailey, and you keep savin' it."


End file.
